Tulane Green Wave @ Rice Owls 🚨Preview Part 1 of 4🚨 Saturday, November 14, 2026 | 1:00 p.m. CT First Community Stadium (Rice Homecoming) | ESPN+ Tulane enters 4-5 (2-3 American) after the 60-10 loss to Tulsa. Rice is 1-8 (0-5) and has lost eight straight. Rice leads the series 20-17-1, but the Wave have won the last two, including 24-10 in 2024. Rice is a 2.5-point favorite at most books. Sponsor: @RedshirtLtd Redshirtltd.com Code: RDW 10% Off Officially Licensed Tulane Lids #RollWave Part 1: Tulane and Rice Tulane Green Wave Year 1 under Will Hall, and the heat has never been higher. The 60-10 loss to Tulsa was the largest loss in program history in American play. Trace Johnson stays at the top of the two-deep at QB (818 yards, 2 TDs, 5 INTs), but he was sacked six times and threw for 69 yards against Tulsa. The backfield is still the strength, Johnnie Daniels (542 yards, 6.1 ypc, 6 TDs), Maurice Turner (366 yards, 7.2 ypc), and Jaylin Lucas (310 yards, 7.2 ypc). Destyn Hill leads the receivers (36 catches, 445 yards), with Anthony Brown-Stephens next (297). Kevin Adams III leads the nation in solo tackles per game (6.33) and Dickson Agu leads the American in tackles per game (9.6). But the run defense is giving up 215.3 yards per game, and opponents are converting 50% of their third downs. Rice Owls Scott Abell's second year (6-16 at Rice). The only win this season is 31-3 over Houston Christian in the opener. This is a run-first option offense: 270.3 rushing yards per game, 5.5 per carry, 20 rushing TDs, and only 118 pass attempts all year. Gael Ochoa has taken over at QB. Abell confirmed Tuesday that he's the starter. In his first start at FAU, he ran for 259 yards and 4 TDs. Jacurri Brown (686 rushing yards, 6 TDs) is back from an ankle injury and is still sharing snaps. Rice leads FBS with nine runs of 50+ yards. The problem is the other side, Rice allows 34.0 points per game, and has lost 10 fumbles. The Owls are coming off a 52-23 loss at North Texas, and Saturday is their Homecoming. Tulane needs two of the last three to get bowl eligible. Losing to a team on an eight-game skid would be a new low. Cont 👇🏻 #RollWave Part 2: Rice offense vs. Tulane defense Rice is going to run it. 443 carries in nine games, about 49 a game, against 118 pass attempts. Ochoa runs the option (325 rushing yards, 7.7 ypc, 5 TDs in limited work). Brown is still the most proven runner on the roster, and Tyvonn Byars (497 yards) and D'Andre Hardeman Jr. (330) give them depth at back. When they throw, it's off play-action and it's a shot. Ochoa hit a 71-yard TD pass at FAU and a 36-yard TD at North Texas. Jordan Clark is the top receiver (20 catches, 257 yards). Abell isn't scared to go for it either. Rice is 13 of 23 on fourth down. That puts Tulane's defense right in the fire. The Wave allow 215.3 rushing yards per game (4.9 ypc, 21 rushing TDs), and Tulsa just put up 562 yards, 224 on the ground, at Yulman. Assignment football matters more this week than any week this season. Everybody has to play their option responsibility. Ed Smith IV, PaLanding Drammeh, and the interior have to win at the point of attack so Agu and Makai Williams (7 TFL, 3 sacks) can run free. Adams and Tchienchou can't be the ones making tackles 15 yards downfield. The good news, Rice has put the ball on the ground 20 times and lost 10. Tulane leads the American in fourth down defense (33.3%) and has won 37 of its last 47 games when it forces a turnover. X Factor: Third down. Opponents are converting 50% against Tulane, and Rice is converting only 31.8% (128th nationally). If the Wave win that matchup, Rice has to punt or gamble on fourth. Cont 👇🏻#RollWave Part 3: Tulane offense vs. Rice defense On paper, this is the matchup that should favor the Wave. Rice allows 34.0 points and 395.9 yards per game, 177.6 on the ground, and opponents are completing 65.4% of their passes. Tulane has to get back to running the ball. Daniels, Turner, and Lucas all average 6+ a carry, but the Wave ran 40 times for 92 yards against Tulsa (2.3 per carry) and went 2 of 12 on third down. Russ Callaway needs early-down success to keep Johnson out of obvious passing downs. The line has allowed 24 sacks this year, six of them Saturday. It's a young group and it showed. Rice's defense makes its plays with effort. Safety AJ Brown leads the team with 66 tackles, linebacker Stone Combs has 57, and safety Koa Akui has 9 TFL. They had a season-best 11 TFL at FAU. Johnson has to take care of the football. He has 5 INTs to 2 TDs, and Tulane is 18-1 since 2022 when it plays turnover-free. Hill and Brown-Stephens should get chances outside. Hit a couple of shots early and Rice has to back up. Red zone is the other piece. Tulane has scored on 20 of 22 trips, but only 12 were touchdowns. Cooper Helmke (11 FGs, long of 58) is a weapon, but field goals won't win a game where Rice is trying to control the clock. X Factor: The offensive line. If they protect Johnson and open lanes for Daniels and Turner, Tulane should move the ball. If the Tulsa pressure carries over, this gets tight fast. Cont 👇🏻#RollWave Part 4: Overall and Three keys to victory for Tulane Rice is favored. Read that again. A 1-8 team on an eight-game losing streak is favored over Tulane. That's where this program is after Tulsa. This should be a game Tulane controls. Rice's only win came against an FCS team. But Rice runs it 49 times a game, and Tulane has struggled to stop the run all year. The Wave are 0-3 in day games and 1-3 on the road. Kickoff is 1 p.m. in Houston on Rice's Homecoming. One more number: Tulane is 4-0 when it scores 21 or more and 0-5 when it scores 20 or less. Three keys for Tulane: Win first down against the run. Rice wants 2nd-and-short all day. Make them play behind the chains, force third-and-long, and let the pass rush eat. If Rice gets to 50 carries, Tulane is in trouble Win the turnover battle. Rice has lost 10 fumbles, so swarm the ball carrier and rip at the football. On offense, Johnson can't give it away. Short fields are a gift to an offense that wants to shorten the game. Score touchdowns, not field goals. Rice has given up 27 touchdowns on 40 red zone trips. Finish drives and get past 21. With the backs Tulane has, there's no reason this offense can't get back to 28-plus. Bowl eligibility is still on the table, but it starts here. Lose this one and the season conversation is over. Tackle, win the line of scrimmage, and get out of Houston with a win. #RollWave #RMFW